The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) asked the Taliban leaders to restore internet and telecommunications services immediately.
“As of yesterday, 1700 hours, they informed us that telecommunications and fiberoptic connectivity in Afghanistan are It will be suspended until new notice“Said the UM leader in the country, Indrika Matwatte, through an irregular satellite video link by Kabul.
“The rest of the country is completely cut at this time, in general“He explained, adding that connectivity has been lost with the help teams in the” deep field “that are providing assistance to the survivors of the earthquake last month in eastern Afghanistan.
“We have no connectivity with them,” he emphasized, highlighting the needs between the original families of the hillside villages that now live in informal settlements crowded in the floor of the Valley in the province of Kunar.
In a community, Mr. Matwatte met a woman who had lost 11 family members. “Trauma is quite immense,” he said.
Now it is believed that more than 43 million people in Afghanistan are offline, after the Taliban began to reduce communications cables several weeks ago, according to reports to address the “vice” and immorality in the light of their strict interpretation of the law of the Sharia.
The work of the UN humanitarians has also been retreated by the prohibition of de facto authorities to national women in the personnel to enter their facilities, earlier this month.
Total off
In addition to impacting UN work and associated organizations, Internet closure has affected health programs, banking services and financial services, the humanitarian UN coordinator, Mr. Matwatte, emphasized.
“At the community level, I imagine that For normal commercial transactions, for banking, for cash transfers, for remittances that come from abroad, which are criticism for these communities, which have been cut“He explained.
A month since the earthquake of magnitude 6.0 hit the eastern regions of Afghanistan, remote communities are still struggling to recover. The disaster killed around 2,000 people and wounded 3,600, damaging 8,500 homes.
“Winter is no longer on the road, it is on us,” said Mr. Matwatte, emphasizing the need to isolate shelters for displaced people and provide warm clothes in the midst of chopped temperatures.
Exemption discussions
The discussions are underway with de facto authorities in Kabul to find an exemption to provide “critical connectivity” with the help teams, but the situation has complicated a “serious” situation in Afghanistan.
“This is another crisis in addition to the existing crisis … the impact will be on the lives of people.” Mr. Matwatte stressed.
He stressed how development would also affect critical medical services, supply chains and vaccines. “The assistance that maintains the basic functioning of the essential services in the country will be affected,” continued the UN Help Coordinator, and pointed out that connectivity with the rest of the world had also been affected.
“Flights have been canceled, international flights will not arrive today,” he said.